Because Navy Seals are Persistent
by Cheryl W
Summary: Someday G will realize he had a family all along because Sam Hanna is nothing but persistent. No Slash.


Because Navy Seals are Persistent

Author: Cheryl W.

Ratings: PG

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters or any rights to NCIS LA, nor am I making any profit from this story.

Summary: Someday G will realize he had a family all along because Sam Hanna is nothing but persistent. No Slash.

Author's note: I posted this a while ago but yanked it the same day. But since it doesn't do much sitting on my hard drive, I'm again bringing it out to the light with a new title and a new summary. Sorry if it's a repeat for some of you!

NCISLANCISLANCISLA

Sam Hanna hated hospitals, hated this hospital especially. He also hated intruding on someone sitting vigil beside a loved one's hospital bed. But duty was duty and he and G Callen, they rarely shirked their duty.

"Lieutenant Martinel, can we talk to you privately a moment," Sam asked the seated Naval officer, didn't miss the lieutenant's assessing look to the seriously wounded, unconscious man in the hospital bed. He was wondering if the man would agree to leave his friend's side when the officer nodded his head in the affirmative, stood up and walked out into the hallway. Sam and G. followed on his heels.

The officer's worry was manifested in the way his eyes shifted about the busy hallway and his hand tracked through his brown hair. But as the NCIS agents exited the room, he stepped closer to Sam, eyes intent, asked his question before the agents could ask their own. "Any leads on who did this to him?" anger and concern and disbelief carried in the baritone.

Sam replied, "A few but nothing concrete yet. Can you tell me when you last talked or met with Lieutenant Foster?"

"At the office around 6 pm the night he was attacked," Lieutenant Martinel's eyes flickered to Sam and then Callen. Finding Sam the more sympathetic, his look settled back onto Sam. He ran a hand over his mouth. "He wanted to grab dinner but I said I was hitting the gym. If only I hadn't blown him off. He's like a brother to me, you know and I…I didn't have his back."

"I know," Sam earnestly empathized, knew one hundred percent what the other man was feeling.

"He's always had mine. Always. I let him down," Martinel disgustedly condemned himself.

Sam shifted on his feet but didn't shy away from the pain and guilt in Martinel's eyes. "I've been there too. Feels like nothing is going to make that better until you know your friend's going to come out of it OK. Nothing."

Seeing that the NCIS agent wasn't patronizing him, wasn't dusting off a well used line from investigation after investigation, Martinel nodded, "Waiting's…" his eyes trailed to the interior of his friend's hospital room, swallowed before he again faced Sam. "I feel so useless so if I can help ..…"

Callen cut across the man's offer, "We will find out whoever assaulted Lieutenant Foster," his words half promise to a victim's worried family member and half warning to a suspect that might think he was in the clear. Seeing Martinel's eyes widen as the implications hit him, G turned away, left the suspect behind. He didn't have to look to his right to know his partner was in step with him. "Guy's hitting the guilt act a little too hard," he undertoned as he and Sam divided as a patient's bed was ushered down the hallway.

His eyes having come up to G's in surprise even as they separated, Sam waited until the intrusion passed, until he was back at G's side before he incredulously prodded, "You think he's playing us?"

G shrugged. "Maybe and you're adding to his performance," he lightly said, the words more curious than reprimand as he studied Sam's face for what he wouldn't say.

"What?" Sam shot back, voice slightly raised in disbelief, eyes pinned to G's.

But G didn't back down at Sam's obvious irritation, though his words were offered up in the teasing tone he used to say tough things that needed saying, "You're whole '_I understand your pain_' gimmick."

"It's not a gimmick," Sam heatedly denied, forced himself to not pick up his pace, to be loose limbed as G always remained, even when the very air was charged. Taking a steadying breath, he confessed, eyes locked on G's, "If anyone understands being faced with your best friend dying and knowing you should have protected him, it's me."

G threw his hands up in the air, gave a huff of exaggerated frustration. "Ah here we go again. Another Navy Seal story." Then his voice turned jokingly mocking, "You're all brothers, would die for each other, are stronger together than apart." Pointedly looking at Sam, noticing the other man's clenched jaw, he still concluded, "Seriously, I'm getting all teary eyed and that's _before_ it's been made into a movie."

Eyes now straight ahead, Sam stalked down the hallway, the guise of indifference disappearing with each step even as he outpaced his partner. The words came out of him tersely. "It was you, alright."

Unaware just where this was heading, of where Sam's thoughts had been the whole time, G laughed in confusion, "Me what?"

Using his lead to an advantage, Sam spun around, effectively blocked G's path, wasn't sure if he felt more anger or sadness that confusion was paramount in his partner's eyes. "It was you, G, that I thought was gonna die on me. It was you." Knowing that G never readily reacted to…_accepted_ words of concern, of brotherhood, of family, Sam gave his stunned partner's shoulder a squeeze and then turned around, began walking to the exit again.

Sam was wondering if he had gone too far, had crossed over a boundary G had landmined when he felt that familiar, reassuring presence of his best friend at his side. He didn't look to confirm it, didn't have to. Had read somewhere that some brothers that were separated at birth…they still found each other, still felt that brotherly connection spark to life when they met, even for the first time. That sometimes people just came together and things clicked like some grand design, years in the making finally coming into fruition. And maybe G couldn't see that yet, wouldn't allow himself to see that, but Sam had the time to make him see it. Knew that, with the rest of the team's help along with Hettie's, G soon would realize that he had been part of a family for five years now and there was no getting out of it.

"You're smiling, what are you smiling about?" G prodded, felt the smug smile had something to do with him.

"Nothing," Sam denied glibly.

"Nothing, right," G drawled sarcastically, confident that, with enough patience and his usual persistence he would eventually get his partner to share the joke. Because Sam Hanna was a lot of things but selfish wasn't one of them.

The end

Thanks for reading.

Have a great day!

Cheryl W.


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